GUJRAT, Nov 8: Local chapters of various political parties as well as officials of the district administration are in a quagmire regarding the current status of Gujrat city’s municipality.

They are wondering if elections will be held for the municipal corporation or the 50 wards of the MC, since only two days are left to file nomination papers as per the decision of the Election Commission of Pakistan.

The fate of the newly upgraded Gujrat Municipal Corporation hangs in balance due to some procedural shortcomings in completion of delimitation of urban union councils of the city. The Punjab Local Government Department is yet to formally issue a schedule for delimitation of Gujrat MC.

The local chapter of PML-N and district government officials perceive that LG elections for Gujrat city and Kunjah Municipal Committee may be delayed if the polls are held as per the Dec 7 schedule.

However, some local political leaders, including from the PML-N, are of the view that though Gujrat has already attained the position of a corporation, but just to be part of the elections according to schedule implementation on the corporation status can be postponed for now and that the polls should be held under the ward system of previous status of municipal committee.

On the other hand, the district government has displayed final list of delimitation of the entire district, including rural union councils and wards of six municipal committees -- Gujrat city, Jalalpur Jattan, Lalamusa, Kharian, Dinga and Sara-i-Alamgir.

These lists are displayed following the hearing of objections, proposals and appeals against delimitation after Gujranwala commissioner, who is the delimitation authority, approved them.

Prior to getting status of a corporation on Oct 31, Gujrat city was divided into 50 wards of a municipal committee. Since the final lists displayed at the district government complex also contain the delimitation of 50 wards of the Gujrat MC, it is generally being perceived in the local political circles that elections might be held under the ward system.

Around 12 urban union councils were proposed for the corporation with chances of addition of four or five more located in the suburbs. However delay in the issuance of the delimitation schedule by the LG department has left everyone confused.

Although local political chapters have been in consultation over preparations for the polls for the last few weeks, electoral activities are yet to gain momentum due to the confusion over holding of the elections as per schedule.

Only the PML-Q has been seriously preparing as Moonis Elahi spent three days in his hometown around a week ago to short-list potential candidates. Now senior party leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi will arrive here on Saturday (today) and is scheduled to preside over a meeting of party workers from Gujrat city.

The Nawabzada group of the PML-N postponed scheduled meetings of the group’s representatives from various union councils of the district around a week ago. Local leaders of the PPP, PTI and JI have also termed the present political scenario confusing at both national and local levels.

Gujrat District Coordination Officer Asif Bilal Lodhi said legally the current status of the city was of a municipal corporation and he was pursuing the provincial Local Government Department to complete the legal course of action for delimitation of Gujrat and Kunjah towns.

He also said in case the process for the two towns was incomplete, elections did not seem possible as per schedule. But he added authorities concerned in the LG department had assured him that elections for Gujrat city would be held on Dec 7. He said the elections could be held in two phases in case of non-completion of procedures.

When asked about the appointment of district returning officer and assistant returning officers for receiving nomination papers from Nov 11, the DCO said he had not yet received a notification in this regard. But local political groups and candidates were visiting his office daily to inquire about the filing of nomination papers.